NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 30 June 2015

Commander Gennady Padalka and One-Year crew member Mikhail Kornienko are getting ready for the Sunday arrival of a resupply ship. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly worked throughout the day on a variety of advanced microgravity science.
Roscosmos, The Russian Federal Space Agency, is counting down to its launch of the ISS Progress 60 (60P) cargo craft at 12:55 a.m. EDT Friday. Padalka and Kornienko trained for the approach and docking of 60P scheduled for Sunday at 3:13 a.m. The ISS Progress 60 will deliver more than 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies to the crew.

Kelly started Tuesday on botany research exploring how plants sense gravity and how roots grow in space. The One-Year crew member also collected gear from the completed Rodent Research-2 experiment which may be used on future life science studies.

On-Orbit Status Report

Plant Gravity Sensing-2 (PGS-2) Photon Counting Unit (PCU) Checkout: Kelly attached PCUs to the CBEF Incubator Unit (IU) 1-Gravity (1-G) centrifuge. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) ground controllers downlinked data from the Plant Experiment Unit (PEU) through the Image Processing Unit (IPU) and reviewed data from the installed PCU. The first run of PGS-2 is planned for July 8. Plants growing on Earth can detect gravity, which enables them to grow their stalks in the opposite direction as their roots. But scientists do not yet understand the chemical process controlling plants response to gravity. Concentrations of calcium in plant cells change in response to various factors, including temperature and touch, and changes in the direction of gravity when plants grown under 1g condition on the earth, but scientists are not sure whether gravity also affects calcium levels in plants grown in microgravity conditions. Utilization of the micro gravity condition to examine the cellular process of formation of the gravity sensor and the molecular mechanism of gravity sensing (Plant Gravity Sensing) studies whether plants grown in microgravity conditions can sense the changes in the gravitational acceleration, and the concentrations of calcium in plant cells changes.

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Low Gravity Phase Kinetics Platform (BCAT-KP) Sample Initiation: Kelly set up the sample image, homogenized a sample, took manual photos using EarthKam software, and initiated automated photography utilizing the camera intervalometer. This sample is the tenth and final sample for BCAT-KP. BCAT-KP provides a platform for material and industrial scientists to investigate colloid phase changes, providing results that may be used to develop new colloidal materials and formulations with unique properties. The results may support new applications, from new liquid crystals to consumer goods having longer shelf life and uses.

Rodent Research (RR) Inventory and Audit: Kelly audited remaining RR equipment and supplies and consolidated equipment. The number of remaining supplies will provide information for manifesting for future RR experiments.

Human Research Facility Personal Computer-2 (HRF PC-2) Troubleshooting: In late April, HRF PC2 failed to respond to ground commands. The power supply brick was changed following several instances of circuit breaker trips. Commanding capability was recovered for one activation, however, subsequent activations were not successful via ground commanding. Today Kelly performed troubleshooting to address the “no Ethernet cable connected” notification. Troubleshooting steps were successful and the HRF PC2 was returned to working order.

Today’s Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Plant Gravity Sensing 2 (PGS2) Experiment Photon Counting Unit Check Out Preparation
JEM Terminal Computer Reboot
Inspecting RS Structural Elements Shell Surfaces using ???-2? device.
Counter Measure System (CMS) Harmful Contaminant Measurements in SM
Audio Dosimeter Preparation
ISS RS Atmosphere Analysis Using ??? ????-4? [Aborted]
OBT ISS Crew Medical Officer (CMO) Computer Based Training (CBT)
Plant Gravity Sensing-2 Experiment Photon Counting Unit Check Out
Rodent Research Inventory Audit and Disposal of Some Items
FGB 800? (?71) Unit Replacement
Starting Photography of Binary Colloidal Alloy Test Sample (BCAT)
TORU OBT. Tagup with Instructor
PGS2 Closeout Ops
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill from EDV
HRF2 PC2 Troubleshooting
Rodent Research Inventory Audit and Disposal of Some Items
OTKLIK. Hardware Check
??? Maintenance
IMS Delta File Prep
COSMOCARD. Closeout Ops.
Completed Task List Items

None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

METERON laptop command
POIC weekly system maintenance
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Wednesday, 07/01: EHS acoustic dosimeter setup, JEMRMS activation/checkout
Thursday, 07/02: Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus MWA Prep, CIR Hardware Review/hardware gather, HRF2 Supply Kit Resupply, Reconnection of MagVector Umbilicals to COL1F2 UIP
Friday, 07/03: JEMRMS BDS Reconfig/checkout, Acoustic Dosimeters data transfer/stow, BCAT Intervalometer Change, MDCA h/w replace
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up